Operation Wetback, was a U.S. immigration law enforcement campaign during the summer of 1954 that resulted in the mass deportation of Mexican nationals (1.1 million persons according to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS], though most estimates put the figure closer to 300,000). Drafted by U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell, Jr., and vetted by Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Operation Wetback arose at least partly in response to a portion of the American public that had become angry at the widespread corruption among employers of sharecroppers and growers along the Mexican border and at the Border Patrol's inability to stem the influx of illegal workers. The INS reported that some 1.1 million undocumented workers had left the country either voluntarily or through prosecution as a result of the operation; however, the number of illegal immigrants who left has long been debated, largely because measurements of "voluntary" departures from the country were difficult to determine. Although Operation Wetback temporarily mollified an angry citizenry, the Bracero Program remained in place for another decade, allowing for the continued influx of legal Mexican immigrants. Moreover, Operation Wetback may have deterred illegal immigration for a time, but it did not relieve the demand for labor in the United States. So, many employers in the agricultural industries still needed the work of immigrants in order to adequately meet demands and compete in the marketplace. The influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico would remain a touchstone of U.S. political debate throughout the remainder of the 20th century and into the 21st.
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